Apparatus for telephone-switchboards.



PATENTED JULY 12, 1904.

B.'H. SMYTHB. APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SWITGHBOARDS.

APPLICATION FILED IA]. 33, 1903.

I0 XODEL.

WIT/1 UNITED STATES Patented July 12, '1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN H. SMYTHE, OF FREEPORT. ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRICCOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE-SWITCHBOARDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,690, dated July 12,1904:.

Application filed January 23, 1903. Serial No. 140,249. (No model.)

To all w/Lmit it nuty concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN H. SMYTHE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus forTelephone- Switchboards, (Case No. 5,) of which the following is a full,clear, concise, and exact deline. In a well-known system of the lattertype i the subscriber on making the call deposits a coin tentatively,the coin serving to complete the connection to operate the line-signal.Once deposited the coin is under the control of the central-ofliceoperator, who canby manipulating one key or another key, as the case maybe, direct the coin into the cash-box or cause it to fall outside thecaslrbox, so as to be returned to the subscriber, in which systems itsometimes happens that the operator will manipulate the wrong key, so asto return the coin to the subscriber when it should be directed to thecash-box, or vice versa. My monitor-signal is intended to give notice tothe supervising operator of any such erroneous or false manipulation,thuskeeping a check upon the operators errors.

I am describing my invention as particularly adapted to systems in whichcoin-collecting toll-boxes are employed. It will be apparent from themore detailed description which follows that my invention may be appliedin modifications of the particularsys tem which is set forth in thisspecification-'- such, for instance, as in those systems well winding ofcut-oft relay f .scriber B responds, current from the centralknown inthe art wherein connection-registers are employed in place ofcoin-collectors.

My invention will be more readily understood. by reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which I have shown two subscribers stations, acoin-collecting box at one of the stations, and central-officeapparatus, including a cord-circuit, combined with my monitor signalingapparatus, which I have illustrated.

A and B may be considered as ordinary subscriberstelephone sets, acoin-collecting box being shown at station A only. This coincollectingbox is provided with a chute a, in which a coin is initially inserted tooperate the lever a and close contact at (4 which directs current frombattery 7) at the central office through the line-relayl/ to light theline lamp or signal 6 The operator on inserting in answering-jack Z) theanswering-plug c directs current through the supervisory lamp 0 andthence through the sleeve of plug 0 and the thimble of switch 5 throughthe cut-off relay (Z to ground. The subscriber A taking down thetelephone causes battery-current to flow through supervisory relay (3 tothe ring of plug 0, thence to limb 1 of the telephone-line and back overlimb 2 to the tip of plug 0 and thence to the other side of the battery.Supervisory relay (2 is thus operated, shunting out lamp 0. The operatorhaving communicated with subscriber A finds out what subscriber iswanted, which we assume is the one at station E. She thereupon insertsplug f in jackf and throws on the calling-generator; The act ofinserting the connecting-plug directs current from the central-oflicebattery through the cut-off relayf lighting the supervisory lamp f Thepath of the cu rrcnt from the central-office battery may be traced, asindicated, by wires 3, I, and 5, through resistance f" and signallamp ifto the sleeve of plugfi-thenceto the thimble of switch f, and thencethrough the When the subvisory relay g to the ring of plug f, limb 6 "ofthe telephone-line of station E, and back over limb 7 to the spring ofjack f in contact with the tip of the plug, and thence to the other poleof the battery. Relay 5 being operated shunts out signal f". Thedepositkey It and the refund-key h are connected with the generator if,which is of suliicient electromotive force to operate the polarizedmagnet 1 1/ of the coin-collector, current of a given polarity beingsent by deposit-key it to throw the coin-stop in the direction indicatedby the arrow to cause the coin to fall to the left of said stop and intothe cash-box. The refund-key It on being depressed directs current ofthe opposite polarity through the polarized magnet it to tilt thecoin-stop in the opposite direction to permit the coin to fall into thereturn-chute 7L4. It will be understood that the general plan of thetelephonecircuits, the construction of the coin-collecting box, and themanner of supervising the connection are old in the art.

My invention is embodied more particularly in the switch-relay 2', withthe circuits thereof, and the locking-relays is k and themonitor-signals Z Z as combined with the deposit and refund keys and theother parts of the apparatus. The last act of the operator beforedisconnecting two lines is to press denipulation of keys la la, and willdescribe now the action of the apparatus in making such signal.

Assume that the plugs 0 and f are inserted in answering-jack Z and inmultiple jackf to connect the two telephone-lines together forconversation and that the clearing-out signals 0 and f have beendisplayed. It is then the duty of the operator to press on key 7b, whichbeing done tilts the coin-stop or partition at station A in thedirection indicated by the arrow to guide the coin into the cash-box. Ifthis is done, the signal Z will not be lighted, for the reason that theWire 8 will be open at the contact of relay t that is to say, thesupervisory relay g has acted to close the circuit through relay 2'. Afeature of the circuit is the provision of the relay-armature m and itscontact in association with the conductor 13, resistance f, signal-lampfand switch-contacts of relay 9, arranged as shown, so that when relay '5is excited by current directed through the contact of relay 5 currentthrough relay Zwill be maintained independent of relay g through saidarmature m and its contact,

while at the same time lamp f 3 will be brought under the control ofrelay 'r that isito say, when relay 2' has acted to shift connection ofbattery-wire 4 from wire 8 to wire 9 the condition will continueindependent of the condition of relay 9. We will now assume that bychance the operator pushed key it when she should have pushed key It. Itis apparent that in such case the battery-current will be closed fromWire 4 to wire 9 and thence through the lower part of key it to wire 10and thence through relay Z0 and lamp Z. Relay is being once closed willremain closed, since batterycurrent will be directed by wire 11 throughthe contact of said relay Zr and thence through the lamp Z. This lampbeing displayed will be notice to the supervising operator of the falseconnection. On the other hand, assume that the operator fails .to .getsubscriber B: First, that the line is found busy when the tip of plug 7"is touched to the thimble of the jack f and the plug f will not beinserted, and therefore supervisory magnet Q will not be excited.Second, suppose subscriber at station B.

fails to respond after plug f is inserted in switch f. In this case thetelephone-switch at station B remaining in its lower or normal positionthere will be no closing of the circuit between limbs 6 7, and in thiscase supervisory magnet Q will not be excited. 1n either case it is theduty of the operator to manipulate key it and so send current throughmagnet if in a direction to tilt the coin-stop or partition in adirection opposite to that indicated by the arrow. This will cause thecoin to pass outside the cash-box to be returned to the subscriber atstation A. If key it is manipulated, there will be no lighting of thelamp Z7, because wire 9 will be found open at the contact of relay If,however, by mistake key 71 should be manipulated, the signal Z would bedisclosed that is, the circuit would be formed through wire 8 to thelower contact of key it to wire 12 and thence through relay Zn. Therelay k beingclosed current will be directed by wire 11 through thecontact of said relay and the coil thereof through the lamp Z to ground.

The keys it It might be arranged to be manipulated for other purposesthan the specific purpose of tilting the coin-stop without departingfrom my invention-that is to say, the polarized electromagnetp may beutilized forany useful work in association with keys similar to keys /th. It is evident that if the key it, with the wires 9 10, the relay is,and the lamp Z, were omitted the relay Z and the remaining connectionswould be effective to'display lamp Z in case key It should bemanipulated at a time when plug f was not in serted in the jack or-onany occasion when the subscriber B had failed to respond by taking downhis telephone.

eral form of a spring-jack, is adapted to re- The key a, in the gen-.

ceive the plug to be inserted by the supervising operator to open thecircuit of thelamps. and thus eff-ace the signal.

The relays Z: Z: I have found desirable as a feature of my invention.The signaling system, however, would be operative without said relaysprovided the supervising operator should at all times watch the signalsZ Z, &c., so as to observe them at the moment any key was falselypressed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 7 1. The combination with anelectromagnetically-actuated toll device, and a switch for applyingcurrent to actuate said device, of a monitor-signal, a circuit for saidsignal completed in contacts of said switch when the same is operated toactuate the toll device,-

and a blocking device adapted to prevent the display of said signal.

' 2. The combination with a calling and a called telephone-line, of anelectrically-actuated toll device associated with thecallingline,connection-switches and connecting-cords for establishingconnection between said lines, a source of current, and a key associatedwith the connecting cords for connecting said source of current to thetoll device to actuate the same, a monitor-signal, a circuit for saidsignal controlled in contacts of said key, a telephone-switch at thesubstation of the called line, a relay in the circuit of theconnectingcords controlled by said telephone-switch, and meanscontrolled by said relay for preventing the display of the aforesaidmonitor-signal.

3. The polarized magnet 78 adapted to control a toll device, incombination with the source of current 71 and the keys it and k, thesupervisory relay g and the relay v1 controlled thereby, with thecircuit connections 8 and 9, and the signals Z l, whereby falsemanipulation of either of the keys it and la is indi cated,substantially as described.

4:. The combination with the polarized magnet of a toll device, of atelephone-line connecting the same with a central station, of thecord-circuit, the keys l2 and it, the signals Z Z connected therewith,and the supervisory relay g and relay '5 for controlling the circuit ofsaid keys and signals, substantially as described.

5. The combination with an electrically-actuated toll device adapted tobe alternatively operated by currents difi'ering in character, of twokeys for directing currents of different character through said tolldevice, a monitor signal for each key, a circuit for each signalincluding switch-contacts of its associated key, and switch mechanismadapted to alternatively change said signal-circuits to place one or theother of said signals under the control of its associated key, wherebythe display of a signal is made dependent upon the condition of theswitch mechanism.

6. The combination with a calling and a called telephone-line, of anelectrically-actuated toll device associated with the callingline,

connection-switches and connecting-eords for establishing connectionbetween said lines, a source of current, a key for connecting sa1dsource of current to the toll device to actuate the same, amonitor-signal, a circuit for the signal controlled in contacts of saidkey, andan electrically-actuated switch associated with the called linecooperating with said key in the control of the signal.

7. The combination with a calling and a called telephone-line, and meansfor making connection therebetween, of an electromagnetically-actuatedtoll device associated with the calling-line. a switch for applyingcurrent to actuate said device, a monitor-signal, mechanism foractuating said signal made effective in operating said switch, andblocking mechpositive or negative polarized current through said tolldevice to operate the same, a signal device for each key, anenergizing-circuit for each signal device adapted to be completed inswitch-contacts of its associated key, electrically-actuated switchmechanism associated with the second telephone-line for alternativelychanging said signal-circuits to place one or the other of said signalsunder the con.- trol of its associated key, and a switch at thesubstation of said last-mentioned telephoneline controlling said switchmechanism, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a calling and a called telephone-line, ofconnection-switches and connecting-cords for making connectiontherebetween,a polarized toll device associated with the calling-line,said toll device being adapted to be alternatively actuated by currentsof opposite polarity, asource of current,

two keys associated with the connecting-cords for alternativelyconnecting the poles of said source of current with the calling-line toactuate said toll device,t wo momtorsignals,one for each key, anactuating-circuit for each signal controlled in contacts of itsassociated key, a relay in each circuit and a locking-circuit for thesame completed in contacts of the relay, a switch at the substation ofthe calling-line controlling the flow of current therein, a relay in thecord-circuit responsive to said switch, and switch-contacts of saidlast-mentioned relay controlling the actuating-circuits of the aforesaidmonitor-signals and adapted to alternatively place one or the other ofsaid signals under the control of its associated key, dependent upon theposition of the switch at the called substation, whereby the actuationof the Wrong key causes the display of a monitorsignal.

10. The combination With a calling and a called telephone-line, and acord-circuit for making connection therebetween, of anelectromagnetically-actuated toll device associated With thecalling-line, a key for applying current to actuate said device, amonitor-signal, a circuit for the signal partially controlled by saidkey, a supervisory signal f and resistance f? associated With thecord-circuit and having theircircuit completed When connection is madeWith the called line, a normally discontinuous shunt of said signal andresistance, a relay e' included in said shunt, a supervisory relay ghaving switch-contacts also included in said shunt, switch-contacts ofrelay 7; cooperating in the control of the circuit of saidmonitor-signal, a conductor 13 extending from a point intermediate saidresistance f" and said signal f to a point intermediate of the Windingof relay 2' and the switch-contacts of relay 9, and switch-contacts m ofrelay@' adapted to complete said conductor 13 when said relay isenergized; whereby said relay is locked in shunt of resistance f*, thecircuit of the monitor-signal is placed under the sole control of saidkey, and the supervisory sigiial placed under the immediate control ofre In Witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 2d day ofDecember, A. D. 1902. EDWIN H. SMYTHE.

Witnesses:

GERTRUDE EYsTER, JULIA K. MUNROE.

